Percussion musical instrument



J. C. DEAGAN.

PERCUSSION MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED ocT 10, 1918.

1,369,268. Patented Feb. 22, 1921. 029/.

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I se ficmw weem I Patented Feb. 22, 1921.

Original applioationiled August 8,1917, hrial ilo. .184,58 8.- Divided and this application filed October 10, 191$. 8erial-1Io.'257,819.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN C. Dnaoax, citi- I zen of the United: States, residing at Chicago, in the countyof Cook and State of Illinois, have invented acertaininewand useful Improvement in Percussion Musical Instruments, of which thefoliowing is a full, clear, concise and exact demription I My inventionrelatesto percuslimrmusical instruments. The. instrumentof my invention, includesv aplurality of sounding bars capable of produc' toneaota chordawhen set into vibration. n accordance-with one I featureof the invention the bars are provided with a'resonating box having: openings therein through.whiehthe-sound-produced by the bars may pa 'thembeing a partition or'partitions J within therinterior of the box that divide the box i'nto reseiiitr in compartments these partitions sloping to have portions almeof underlie the openings pertaining thereto. Each resonating compartment preferably has two valves for adjusting the effective size of the opening therein, one valve being normally fixed while the other is adjustable.

, In accordance with another feature of my invention the sounding bars are fiat and are supported b strings'located near the opposite ends 0 the bars and at nodal points thereof. These strings passthrough openings in the bars and are themselves provided with supports that have string engaging portions located at the spaces between the bars and between the ends of the bars whereby the bars are flexibly supported in substantially the same plane without having freedom for moving materially in their lane. Y t

I will explain my invention more fully by reference to the accompan ing drawing showing the preferred embo iment thereof and in which Figurel isa front elevation with one of the sounding bars partially broken away to reveal certam characteristics of construction; Fig.2 is a view on line 2-2 of F ig. 1; Fig. 3 is :a view on line 33 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a view on line 4-4 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 5 is a I plan view of a portion of the instrument, with parts removed.

Likeparts are indicated by similar characters of referencethroughout the difl'erent compartment 2 longitudinally of which the sounding bar is disposed, the compartment having an openmg 3 desirably extending longitudinally of the bar in the space be- "tween the nodal points thereof, this opening formed by wall portions of a box '5whose interior is separated off into tubular spaces by means of partitions 6 which partially underlie the openings 3, these partitions servingnot only to separate the box 5 into resonating, compartments but also directly act-mg as sound reflectors which are impinged upon by'thesound waves entering the resonating chambers before encountering other walls of the resonating chambers. Sounding bar supporting posts 7 are disposed between the bars and are screwed into the front wall of the box and are provided, each, with four apertures. The two uppermost or outermost apertures in each post are threaded by a string 8 desirably in the form of a leather thong. Each post thus has engagement with the string at places spaced apart longitudinally of each post a distance materially in excess of the thickness of the bars. There are two rows of such posts located in transverse alinement with the openings 4. There is desirably provided one thong or string 8 for the row of posts which is turned upon itself so that both ends of the same string are attached to the same post, the right hand post as exhibited in igs. 4 and 5, where both ends of the string are tied together in a knot 9. Parts of the string are laced inwardly through the openings 4 and other parts of the string are laced outwardly through these openings, the string being crossed within the openings 4; The bight of the string is anchored to the ex treme left hand post 7 indicated. By this arrangement the bars are flexibly sup ported in substantially the same plane withouthaving freedom for moving materially in such plane.

which supplemental cushion is preferably EN Q HICE-f? g normally out of contact with the bars but serves to support the bars in the event of breakage of its associate string. In case the string 8 should sag sufiiciently to bring the bars in contact with the supplemental cushions 10 the latter cushions may be shifted to thread the openings 11 in the post 7 which are farther away from the bars than the openings through which the strings 10 are initially passed.

Strips 12 are attached to the outer ends of the posts 7 by means of nuts 13, these strips being in the planes of the strings 8 and 10 sufiiciently to conceal the same to prevent the strings, particularly the string 8, from being unsightly. The concealing strips 12 are desirably inturned at ll sufficiently to conceal the places of attachment of the strings 8 and 10 with the outermost posts 7, the inturned ends of the strips 12 being in the same planes with the rows of posts 7 f The bars are preferably, but not necessarily, of uniform length and Width but of differing thickness.

In the construction of the instrument each opening 6 is provided With a pair of valves 16 and 17. The valves 17 are arranged to enable them to be adjusted by the user While the valves 16 are fixedly adjusted in the construction of the instrument. The instrument thus leaves the factory accurately tuned and 1f tor any reason the tuning be- 1 comes disordered it may be reefiected by the valves 17.

Claims relating to the mounting of the bars are contained in my original application Serial No. 18 1,5583, filed August 6, 1.917, of which the present application is a division.

While I have herein shown and particularly described the preferred embodiment of my invention I do not Wish to be limited to the precise details of construction shown as changes may readily be made without departing from the spirit of my invention but having thus described my invention I claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent the following A musical instrument having a plurality of sounding bars; a box upon which these bars are mounted; openings in the box through which sound may pass; and partitions subdividing the interior of the boxinto resonating compartments and which part1- tions slope to have portions thereof underlie the openings pertaining thereto.

In Witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 27th day of September, A. D. 1918.

JOHN C. DEAGAN. 

